Jack A. Tuszynski Books

Consciousness is one of the major unsolved problems in science. How do the feelings and sensations making up conscious experience arise from the concerted actions of nerve cells and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? Can such feelings be explained by modern science, or is there an entirely different kind of explanation needed? And how can this seemingly intractable problem be approached experimentally? How do the operations of the conscious mind emerge out of the specific interactions involving billions of neurons? This multi-authored book seeks answers to these questions within a range of physically based frameworks, i. e, the underlying assumption is that consciousness can be understood using the intellectual potential of modern physics and other sciences. There are a number of theories of consciousness in existence, some of which are based on classical physics while some others require the use of quantum concepts. The latter ones have drawn a lot of criticism from the present-day scientific establishment while simultaneously claiming that classical approaches are doomed to failure. This book presents the reader with a spectrum of opinions from both sides of this on-going scientific debate, letting him/her decide which of these approaches are most likely to succeed.

Physics, mathematics and chemistry all play a vital role in understanding the true nature and functioning of biological membranes, key elements of living processes. Besides simple spectroscopic observations and electrical measurements of membranes we address in this book the phenomena of coexistence and independent existence of different membrane components using various theoretical approaches. This treatment will be helpful for readers who want to understand biological processes by applying both simple observations and fundamental scientific analysis. It provides a deep understanding of the causes and effects of processes inside membranes, and will thus eventually open new doors for high-level pharmaceutical approaches towards fighting membrane- and cell-related diseases.